Compact Inverter-Triggered SCR for ESD Protection in Broadband Communication Circuits

Hao Yuan Lee; Hao En Cheng; Chun Yu Lin

doi:10.1109/ISCAS66217.2026.11562175

Compact Inverter-Triggered SCR for ESD Protection in Broadband Communication Circuits

Hao Yuan Lee^*
, Hao En Cheng
, Chun Yu Lin

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

Abstract

This work presents a silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR) design optimized for broadband electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection in high-speed communication interfaces. Fabricated in a 0.18-μm CMOS process, the proposed circuit employs a power-clamp-based trigger mechanism to achieve a reduced turn-on voltage without increasing layout complexity. To ensure superior signal transparency and impedance matching, an inductor is integrated above the SCR structure to compensate for the parasitic capacitance from the SCR device. Experimental results confirm that the device has an HBM robustness of up to 2.1 kV and maintains a signal bandwidth of 60 GHz, validating its suitability for advanced communication systems.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	ISCAS 2026 - 2026 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems
Publisher	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Pages	1764-1768
Number of pages	5
ISBN (Electronic)	9798331577698
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/ISCAS66217.2026.11562175
Publication status	Published - 2026
Externally published	Yes
Event	2026 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, ISCAS 2026 - Shanghai, China Duration: 2026 May 24 → 2026 May 27

Publication series

Name	Proceedings - IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems
ISSN (Print)	0271-4310

Conference

Conference	2026 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, ISCAS 2026
Country/Territory	China
City	Shanghai
Period	2026/05/24 → 2026/05/27

Keywords

broadband design
CMOS design
communication circuits
ESD protection
parasitic compensation
silicon-controlled rectifier

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Access to Document

10.1109/ISCAS66217.2026.11562175

Cite this

Lee, H. Y., Cheng, H. E., & Lin, C. Y. (2026). Compact Inverter-Triggered SCR for ESD Protection in Broadband Communication Circuits. In ISCAS 2026 - 2026 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (pp. 1764-1768). (Proceedings - IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems). Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.. https://doi.org/10.1109/ISCAS66217.2026.11562175

Compact Inverter-Triggered SCR for ESD Protection in Broadband Communication Circuits. / Lee, Hao Yuan; Cheng, Hao En; Lin, Chun Yu.
ISCAS 2026 - 2026 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2026. p. 1764-1768 (Proceedings - IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

Lee, HY, Cheng, HE & Lin, CY 2026, Compact Inverter-Triggered SCR for ESD Protection in Broadband Communication Circuits. in ISCAS 2026 - 2026 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems. Proceedings - IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., pp. 1764-1768, 2026 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, ISCAS 2026, Shanghai, China, 2026/05/24. https://doi.org/10.1109/ISCAS66217.2026.11562175

Lee HY, Cheng HE, Lin CY. Compact Inverter-Triggered SCR for ESD Protection in Broadband Communication Circuits. In ISCAS 2026 - 2026 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. 2026. p. 1764-1768. (Proceedings - IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems). doi: 10.1109/ISCAS66217.2026.11562175

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title = "Compact Inverter-Triggered SCR for ESD Protection in Broadband Communication Circuits",

abstract = "This work presents a silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR) design optimized for broadband electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection in high-speed communication interfaces. Fabricated in a 0.18-μm CMOS process, the proposed circuit employs a power-clamp-based trigger mechanism to achieve a reduced turn-on voltage without increasing layout complexity. To ensure superior signal transparency and impedance matching, an inductor is integrated above the SCR structure to compensate for the parasitic capacitance from the SCR device. Experimental results confirm that the device has an HBM robustness of up to 2.1 kV and maintains a signal bandwidth of 60 GHz, validating its suitability for advanced communication systems.",

keywords = "broadband design, CMOS design, communication circuits, ESD protection, parasitic compensation, silicon-controlled rectifier",

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note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2026 IEEE.; 2026 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, ISCAS 2026 ; Conference date: 24-05-2026 Through 27-05-2026",

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doi = "10.1109/ISCAS66217.2026.11562175",

language = "English",

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N2 - This work presents a silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR) design optimized for broadband electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection in high-speed communication interfaces. Fabricated in a 0.18-μm CMOS process, the proposed circuit employs a power-clamp-based trigger mechanism to achieve a reduced turn-on voltage without increasing layout complexity. To ensure superior signal transparency and impedance matching, an inductor is integrated above the SCR structure to compensate for the parasitic capacitance from the SCR device. Experimental results confirm that the device has an HBM robustness of up to 2.1 kV and maintains a signal bandwidth of 60 GHz, validating its suitability for advanced communication systems.

AB - This work presents a silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR) design optimized for broadband electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection in high-speed communication interfaces. Fabricated in a 0.18-μm CMOS process, the proposed circuit employs a power-clamp-based trigger mechanism to achieve a reduced turn-on voltage without increasing layout complexity. To ensure superior signal transparency and impedance matching, an inductor is integrated above the SCR structure to compensate for the parasitic capacitance from the SCR device. Experimental results confirm that the device has an HBM robustness of up to 2.1 kV and maintains a signal bandwidth of 60 GHz, validating its suitability for advanced communication systems.

KW - broadband design

KW - CMOS design

KW - communication circuits

KW - ESD protection

KW - parasitic compensation

KW - silicon-controlled rectifier

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Compact Inverter-Triggered SCR for ESD Protection in Broadband Communication Circuits

Abstract

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Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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